In the 21-country International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), Danish eighth graders were topped only by their contemporaries in the Czech Republic in computer and information literacy (CIL). Danes’ average CIL score of 542 was behind the 553 scored by Czech students and equal to the score of Australian students. 

“Our longstanding focus on incorporating IT into teaching and examinations in public schools has had a positive impact on the students’ ability to use computers,” Education Minister Christine Antorini said in a press release. 

 

“With our school reform, we continue to take advantage of the possibilities presented by IT and digitalisation and there is indeed still room for improvement,” Antorini added. 

 

As was the case with the Education at a Glance 2014' report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released in September, the ICILS found that of all countries involved, Denmark spent the most money on investing in education. The 8.7 percent of GDP that Denmark spent on education in 2013 was well above runner-up Norway’s 7.3 percent. 

 

See also: Denmark spends most on education: OECD

 

Denmark was also among most connected countries in the study. With 38.8 fixed broadband subscriptions for every 100 inhabitants, Denmark was topped only by the Netherlands (39.8) and Switzerland (40.1). 

 

The 95 percent of Danish students who said they use a home computer at least once a week was also well above the ICILS average of 87 percent. 

 

More than 1,700 eighth grade students and 728 teachers from 110 Danish schools participated in the ICILS, marking the first time that an international study has evaluated Danish student’s computer and information competencies.